13900K running at 4300 MHz in games only (suddenly)

[Merkor]

I've had an Asus Z790 Hero with a 13900K for a long time. I've always had the power limit set to 150W and slightly undervolted via load line and left it there. In games, I usually had fluctuating clock speeds of 5000-5500 MHz, because the CPU is never fully utilized there, especially in single-player games with 20-40% utilization.

For a few weeks now, however, I've noticed that the clock speed in games is stuck at 4300 MHz, regardless of the load. Temperatures are OK at around 75 degrees Celsius. In Windows, the CPU sometimes fluctuates up to 5500 MHz. So, the multi-core is basically working. This can't have anything to do with the Raptor Lake microcode updates, because I had the higher clock speeds even with the Intel-corrected microcode 0x12B, but now I no longer have them. Today I installed a new BIOS update with the latest microcode 0x12F. In the BIOS, I basically just set the PL1/PL2 to 150 W again, and again only used 4300 MHz in games and Cinebench.

Cinebench, with a 150 W power limit, gives me about 10,000 points (R20) and about 25,000 points (R23 Multi). That feels about 15% too low. I can't say what I've changed since this behavior started (at least nothing in the BIOS). I recently updated the Intel drivers (chipset, etc.), but I can't pinpoint the timing for sure. Windows 11 with the latest updates is installed.

Could it be, that Intel rolled out the 0x12F microcode via Windows Update, so I got this before I updated the BIOS today? This could have been the trigger, when things changed. This could also explain the change in behaviour, although I did not change anything in BIOS. But this is pure speculation…

[Merkor]

Some observations:

The "IA: Max Turbo Limit" is limitting right from the start, without putting load on the CPU. This is regardless of the 150W power limit or not. Intel Adapative Boost Technology set to enabled makes no difference. However, Asus MultiCore Enhancement was disabled in all tests. I don't know which setting would influence the turbo limit.

There is NO thermal throttling. With 150W power limit all cores stay in the low/mid 70s. With unlimited power limit I see temps from 90-97 degrees Celsius.

Regardless of the BIOS settings, P2 will not clock above 3000 MHz (no thermal throttling, since it is the same voltage and temp as for all other cores), while all other cores are boosting to 4300 MHz in Cinebench and games. While loading Indiana Jones, the CPU is jumping between 4300 and 5500 MHz (nothing in between), but again, P2 stays at 3000 and when the game is completely loaded, Afterburner/Rivatuner is reporting 4300 MHz all the time.

Clock in Cinebench is 4300 MHz on all cores (except P2 with 3000) regardless of the power limit (150Wor no limit resulting in 230+W and about +0.2v).

ICCMAX is set to 400.

I updated to the latest Intel Chipset and Management Interface drivers to no avail. I had the Asus 2801 BIOS running since it came out in 2024 and the behaviour started with the exact same BIOS without having changed settings. Updating the BIOS to 3001 with the latest Intel microcode changed nothing.

Running out of ideas. Is this actually Raptor Lake degradation? The system seems stable, though, without bluescreens, restarts or closing applications.

[Merkor]

SOLUTION: I got a reference to the Intel Extreme Tuning Utility (XTU) in a Reddit post. I hadn't started it or updated it in ages. The P2 was set to a multiplier of 30 instead of 55. I increased this value, and now I'm getting dynamic boosting on ALL cores beyond 4300 and 3000 MHz (P2). Cinebench now runs at 4600 MHz with a 150W power limit, and in games, I'm experiencing my typical frequency fluctuations beyond the 5000 MHz mark again. Why this setting (which I never set myself!) has such a far-reaching effect is a mystery to me.

[dhwsn352]

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